rs--had been down in the saloon; fortunate that he had been familiar with that horrible outlawed gas; fortunate that he had had the presence of mind enough and sheer physical stamina enough to send his warning without allowing one paralyzing trace to enter his own lungs. Captain Bradley, the men on watch, and several other officers in their quarters or in the wardrooms--space-hardened veterans all--had obeyed instantly and without question the amplifiers' gasped command to "get tight." Exhaling or inhaling, their air-passages had snapped as that dread "Vee-Two" was heard, and they had literally jumped into their armored suits of space--flushing them out with volume after volume of unquestionable air; holding their breath to the last possible second, until their straining lungs could endure no more.

Costigan waved the girl to a vacant bench, cautiously changed into his own armor from the emergency suit he had been wearing, and approached the captain.

"Anything in sight, sir?" he asked, saluting.

Reviews

I've been a fan of 'The Doc' for over 30 years - if I need to retreat from the World, he's one of my first ports of call. Please, Please, Please provide more in lrf format as I can't find any other form to replace my well read paperbacks

I grew up on "Doc" Smith's Lensman and Skylark series and have the whole set of obth in paperback. I personally can't think of a better SF writer and am really looking forward to the rest of the series in ebooks.

The late EE "Doc" Smith created the archtypical stories later known as "Space Opera". "Triplanetary" was the first of six books in the Lensman series, and provided the background and the setting.

Our universe has been invaded by an ancient race known as the Eddorains. These beings want only power, and have destroyed thier own continuum in internecine strife. Their arrival has been detected by an even more ancient race known as the Arisians, who are native to our cosmos. To fight Eddore, Arisia grooms humanity to form first the Triplanetary Service, and later the Galactic Patrol, as the instrument by which Civilization will be spread through the galaxy and counter the efforts of Eddore.

To aid humans in the struggle, the Arisians provide carefully selected humans with the Lens, a jewel that bonds with the wearer, and provides the ability to read minds, among other things.

Smith was a master at pulling rabbits out of his authorial hat. Whenever you think he can't get any wilder, rest assure he has a topper up his sleeve, and a topper for the topper lined up behind that.

Great period fun, and one of the formative works of modern SF.

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